Readers’ Letters

IT was said the Great Western Railway would never get as far as Reading and sure enough it got stopped for years while they agreed and dug the Sonning Cutting (The Yorkshire Post, November 2). Money had run out. Now it goes to Oxford, Bristol and all the way to Penzance.

Will HS2 ever be built?

They said the M4 would never go beyond Slough and sure enough it was a dual carriageway road to Slough for years. Money had run out. Now it goes to Bristol and is many lanes for part of the way, not just two or three. They say the HS2 will never go beyond Birmingham. Don’t worry, Leeds and Sheffield. HS2 will make its way there and people will wonder how we ever managed without it.

From: Geoff Marsden, Buxton Avenue, Heanor.

IN response to HS2 Ltd chairman Sir Terry Morgan (The Yorkshire Post, November 2), he writes about the jobs it will create, the apprentices it will create, the businesses it will create and the economy it will create.

Yet he never tells what these businesses are, where they will be and what they will produce – or sell. He says HS2 can – and will – change lives for the better. Better? What does he mean?

He writes that he is under no illusion his vision will become a reality. The reality is he is under a delusion, not a vision.

From: Ian Gill, Coneythorpe, Knaresborough.

SHOCK and horror. In the space of 24 hours, we have Sir Terry Morgan telling us all how HS2 is going ahead despite people’s concerns (The Yorkshire Post, November 2), and then there are reports that Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, says the second leg from Birmingham to Leeds is “not in the bag”.

Though denied, let us all be totally clear – the second phase is never going to happen, is it? The cost overruns on the initial section will be horrendous, which obviously leaves nothing for those living north of Birmingham.

From: Bob Swallow, Townhead Avenue, Settle.

YOUR correspondent Marilla Clayton (The Yorkshire Post, November 2) comes up with a nice idea for the railways. Sadly double decker trains in the UK, bar Ireland, would result in a great number of decapitations.

The reason is simple. While the gauge of the tracks is the same here as the majority of the continent that is standard gauge at 4 ft 8 1/2 ins, the loading gauge, that is the height and width abroad, is both higher and wider.